1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to panels for displaying advertising images and more specifically to advertising panels that are for use in the front windshield of automobiles, and that are portable and foldable.
2. State of the Art
Rigidly mounted panels and billboards for displaying advertising materials are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. These signs and billboards are often mounted in a place where the advertising image can be seen by the target audience of the advertisement. Advertising panels can be placed on billboards alongside roads and on the front or sides of buildings, for example. These types of signs are not usually lightweight, temporary, or foldable, however. For lightweight signage, images can be printed on paper or fabric. Paper, however, has a limited lifetime. The paper gets undesirable folds and creases over time, and the quality of the image on the paper degrades, making the sign less useful in attracting interest and conveying an advertising message. Fabric tends to create a surface that is not flat, rendering the image less readable. There is a need for an advertising panel which is lightweight and foldable, but is rigid and accepts a high quality graphic image which can withstand the rigors of time and weather and still convey a pleasing and attractive image to consumers.
Vehicular windshield curtains have been manufactured to inhibit heat transfer to the interior of automobiles, with limited advertising on the forward facing surface. However, consumers have difficulty reading the full scope of the advertising image, due to the subject matter not having a flat appearance. In addition, the advertising is only useable during the day. If the surface is made solid and flat, storing a solid panel the width of a vehicle's interior has proven to be impractical. There are no existing devices that are useful for displaying high quality advertising against the windhshield of an automobile, while being light in weight, robust, rigid and simple to use.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an advertising panel to provide flat advertising signage that is portable, that can be used inside the front windshield of automobiles and is visible both during the day and during the night, that can be folded without breaking, that is neat and has a uniform appearance, that can be easily manufactured in full color with high quality advertising graphics including photographs, and that will accept and retain printing suitable for outdoor use.